*A new campaign ad from Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat facing Rep. Joe Kennedy in the Massachusetts primary, includes props from his Green New Deal co-author, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. But the congresswoman’s assertion in the ad that Markey is “a stalwart champion for racial justice,” is being challenged by Dan Henry — the father of DJ Henry, a Black college student from Easton, Massachusetts, who was killed in New York State by police 10 years ago.
“If you are on the right side of social justice issues, act that way when the cameras aren’t on you,” Henry said in a video on Twitter, referring to what happened when the family contacted every member of the state delegation, including Markey, for help with reopening his son’s case.
“Not only did you not act, in any way, but we felt like you were just dismissing us, using even the term ‘colored’ in the conversation,” Henry said.
Watch below, or click here to watch on Henry’s Twitter page.
@EdMarkey @WBUR @BostonDotCom #djhenry #danroyhenryjr @wbz #Massachusetts @NYGovCuomo @wgbhnews @bostonherald @AOC pic.twitter.com/xsAYqE6ugd
— Danroy Henry Sr (@DanroyHenrysr) August 3, 2020
Markey released a statement saying he strongly supports the Henry family’s efforts to reopen the case, in which the officer involved was not charged. He said, “I have reached out to the Henry family to offer my sincerest apologies, and to pledge to them my complete support to take action on this case. I am fully at their disposal, and hope to work with them.”
The Henry family has endorsed Kennedy, but the Kennedy campaign says it had no idea Henry was sending the tweet. The family is pushing prosecutors to consider new evidence in their son’s case and whether racial bias played a role.
Watch a news report on the story below from WCVB, followed by Sen. Markey’s political ad featuring AOC that sparked Henry’s response